


Castaways Meet on Rocky Shores

by JeweloftheWorld



Series: Castaway AU [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Astral Projection, Attempted Kidnapping, Bipper Aftermath, Canon Divergence - s02e04 Sock Opera, Dipper Pines Needs A Hug, Don't worry, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Isolation, Journal 3 (Gravity Falls), Manipulative Bill Cipher, Memory Loss, No one's actually dead, Some Fluff, Tags May Change, The Nightmare Realm (Gravity Falls), Triangle Bill Cipher, and so does Delphina, but there is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28517742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeweloftheWorld/pseuds/JeweloftheWorld
Summary: After a disastrous puppet show, Dipper finds himself adrift in the Nightmare Realm. He narrowly escapes capture with the help of a new friend. Though she seems kind, Dipper has difficulty understanding her motivations and there are just a few too many coincidences surrounding their meeting.Trust No One. Right?
Relationships: Bill Cipher & Dipper Pines, Bill Cipher & Original Female Character(s), Dipper Pines & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Castaway AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069733
Comments: 9
Kudos: 7





	1. Alea Iacta Est

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU diverging from Sock Opera. Basically, Bill succeeded in destroying the Journal and, rather than kill Dipper or leave the twins alone, he decides to drag Dipper's ghostly form through the Mindscape and into the Nightmare Realm. You may want to read Later That Night first but I don't think you should need to.
> 
> If you're looking for a pirate or sailors AU then this isn't it. Castaway is figurative (and a reference to Escape to Witch Mountain.) This isn't Billdip either.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super mild body horror in this chapter. Delphina is designed to be walking uncanny valley. (Tell me I succeeded.)

> “Do you trust me?”
> 
> -Aladin

All Dipper knew was chaos. His last clear recollection was that of his sister falling from a catwalk, after that, everything was just quick flashes: a triumphant cry, a burning book, then a tugging sensation and blackness. Now, as he looked around, his surroundings made even less sense than his memories.

Strange colors and smells assaulted his senses, unidentifiable junk floated by aimlessly, and gravity seemed to have gone out to lunch. In one direction, he could see actual structures, but with designs so strange they should be impossible. In another, there was an asteroid field. But the most alarming things were the nightmarish creatures surrounding him. They were speaking incomprehensibly, but the mocking tone was undeniable.

"HEY, PINE TREE! HOW DO YOU LIKE MY HOME?" a familiar voice called out and before Dipper could even process what it was saying, all his terror and confusion converted into action, a single action: escape. He shot off, not bothering to think about how he was moving or where he might be going. He was already inside the asteroid field before the voice called out, “DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY.”

He was able to dodge most of the boulders without slowing down. The creatures were well out of sight before the voices started to get closer, accompanied by sounds of clashing rocks and curses. Still, they were gaining on him and no matter how many turns he took he couldn’t seem to shake them. Finally, he slowed down and took in his surroundings, looking for a place to hide. One nearby asteroid was so huge he thought he might be able to lie flat against it and not be noticed. Two other asteroids had cave-like openings. One was incredibly small and would be difficult to wriggle into but it was unlikely to be noticed. The other had a wide opening that could be easily spotted; they might even be able to see him inside.

He hesitated, knowing that the small cave was probably the smartest option but terrified he’d get stuck. As the voices began to close in, he panicked and went for the wide cave mouth, clumsily landing on his feet and stumbling into the back of the cave, trying to make himself small against one of the walls. The rock was rough and porous, probably leaving him covered in scrapes he didn’t have time to deal with. He took deep calming breaths and tried to make sense of things.

The voice, still echoing in Dipper's mind, had been Bill's, he was sure of that. He remembered that his last hours on Earth had been spent in the "mindscape" but he still didn't understand what that meant. If he and Bill were both here, what had happened to his body? Where was here anyway?

Suddenly, the asteroid moved, fast, jolting Dipper out of his thoughts. The voices were right on top of him now, taunting and threatening. He clung to the wall as the boulder spun and bounced around, trying to maintain some sense of balance and direction. Anger bubbled up inside. Why was he hiding like a scared little girl? What made these monsters any different than the ones he’d fought before? He tried to stand, ready to go out there and prove his metal. An enormous claw reaching into the cave entrance made him think better of that. What would happen if they got him?

Something grabbed him. He yelled and tried to yank away but the grip was firm. Looking down, he saw a hand, a human hand, tightly gripping his wrist. It was clammy, pale, unnaturally smooth, and didn’t appear to be attached to anything, like it had grown out of the cave wall.

"I can help,” an unfamiliar voice whispered. Now he could see a month on the cave wall, pale lips and gleaming white teeth. If the hand was creepy, this was downright disturbing. “Please, I can help but we have to hurry.”

“Get off of me,” Dipper demanded, mimicking the voice’s volume. His brain couldn’t keep up with what he was seeing and the motion of the asteroid was not helping. Gravity was already inconsistent enough without being passed around like a volleyball.

"They already have you," the voice, which Dipper now decided was feminine, continued. "It’s only a matter of time before they get bored and drag you back to base. I can get you away without them seeing, but you have to trust me.” He didn’t have a lot of options. Who knew what Cipher was planning to do with him and Dipper was on unfamiliar ground. Was it choosing “the devil you know” if he was a complete enigma?

“How can I trust you if I can’t even see you?” he hissed, still squirming against her hand.

“Fair enough.” The stone surface seemed to melt away, revealing a young woman, not much taller than himself. It seemed like all the color had leached out of her long ago, leaving her skin nearly white, and her hair, pulled back into a severe bun, a dull black. All but her head, hands, and feet were covered in a drab, gray, shapeless fabric. The only color that remained were her blue eyes, and even those were a deep midnight blue that might be mistaken for black at first glance. She dropped his wrist and offered her hand. “Believe me you don’t want them to catch you. You go into that base you won’t be coming back out.” The voices outside were getting more impatient. Time was running out.

No one you can trust

“Alright,” he said, clutching the proffered hand.

“I need you to be absolutely silent. This might get a little weird.” She kicked off, not through the cave entrance but through the rock itself. Dipper gasped but he never touched the stone, just passed right through it. Once he was out in the open, the woman was nowhere to seen, but he could still feel her hand in his. The creatures surrounded them on all sides. One had stopped the asteroid and was digging inside the cave entrance. They’d gotten out just in time. The hand he could feel but not see started to drag him towards the fringes of the group. It was a close thing; he felt himself brush up against at least two of the creatures. A cry of disappointment went up from the one holding the asteroid. The creatures they had passed yelled and pointed in their direction.

The chase was on again, only this time Dipper was being led. Rather than dodge around asteroids, they passed right through them. Judging by the sound, the creatures were gaining fast, too fast. In just a few minutes they had caught up. This was it, he was caught. He closed his eyes tight, monsters all around, and waited for the worst. The hand jerked him in a new direction and he opened his eyes again. Most of the goons had passed them by. A straggler had just come very close to running into them. His guide had stopped. Once all their pursues were well ahead, she followed much more slowly.

Now he had a chance to calm down, Dipper realized that he was just as invisible as his companion. Soon, they reached a small cluster of asteroids and phased right through the stone, entering a rudimentary living space. A couple of empty boxes sat in the corner with food and medical supplies littering the bottom. Several piles of fabric were scattered across the cave floor, presumably used as chairs and beds.

"We should be safe here, at least for a bit,” the woman said, once again visible. She looked Dipper over with some confusion and then asked, "Where’s your body?"

Dipper wasn’t sure. He remembered being forced out of his body back on Earth and did not remember returning to it, but this woman had spoken to him and made physical contact. How could she do that if he didn’t have a physical form? He examined himself and saw that he was still a translucent spirit with a slight blue glow.

When the woman didn't receive an answer she just shrugged and plopped down on one of the fabric piles. "I guess you won't be using up food supplies," she quipped and gestured for him to have a seat on a different pile. He did. As he sat, the coarse fabric shifted under the weight he shouldn’t have. Thousands of questions, filled his head, swirling incomprehensibly. Each time he tried to grasp one, it slipped through his fingers. He fell back on basic politeness, giving himself time.

"Thanks for getting me out of there,” he murmured, still trying to catch his breath. “I'm Dipper Pines, what's your name?"

"Pines?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Did I hear that right?"

"Yeeeaaah." She mulled that over for a moment before shaking her head, dismissing it.

"If you’re Dipper then I suppose you may call me… Delphina."

"Nice to meet you."

Delphina nodded, still seeming unsure of him. Dipper bit his lip and tried to be calm and figure out what were the most important questions.

"What is this place? Where am I?" His host sighed, then answered with her own question.

"You're from Earth right?" He nodded. "Alright, how much do you know about multiverse theory?"

Dipper was familiar with the concept from sci-fi books and films and he gave a brief description of how he thought it worked.

"Close enough, I’m hardly the expert," she said, giving Dipper the impression that she'd had this conversation many times before. "We’re in a place that isn't a proper timeline or dimension or reality, but a sort of crawl space between them. Things that you've probably taken for granted all your life, like the Laws of Physics, don't necessarily apply here, and the distinctions between mind, body, and soul are a lot blurrier. Long before my time, it was called Dimension 0 but now most people just call it the Nightmare Realm."

"Nightmare Realm," Dipper pondered. "Ominous, fitting place for Cipher though, being a dream demon and all." That was the wrong thing to say

"How do you know who Bill Cipher is?" she snarled. Her voice was angry but her breathing quickened in fear.

Dipper, wary of his host’s odd reaction, began to tell his story, starting with his foolish deal and recounting up to the point when his sister and his own body had fallen from the catwalk. He still wasn't sure what happened after that, like something was blocking out the memory. He was fairly certain the Journal, his one treasure, had been destroyed. As to what happened to his sister and his own body, he didn't have a clue nor did he know how he had found himself in the Nightmare Realm.

Now Delphina was pacing, occasionally muttering under her breath or clenching her fists. In order to answer some of her questions, he explained about fighting Bill in his uncle's mind and the way Bill was talked about in the journal.

She wanted detailed descriptions of both the journal and his Grunkle Stan but wouldn’t explain why. That annoyed him. Here he was trying to be honest while she was hiding things. Finally, the questions stopped.

"Well, it seems to me that Cipher intentionally brought you here through the mindscape, which means he still wants you for something,” Delphina announced, sitting back down. “I don't know what happened to your body but there's a decent chance he killed you, which explains why you're blocking it out." Most of the friendliness that had colored her voice had faded into callous apathy.

Dipper didn't want to think about his… death, his brain rejected the idea. What could Bill possibly want with him? He was just some kid. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Delphina was terrified of Bill. She must have a good reason. How far did that terror go? Would it override her goodwill towards him?

"Why did you help me?"

"That’s sorta just what I do," she answered, taken aback. "I help other castaways survive and evade capture. I'd like to say that it's for some noble, selfless reason or that it's some small act of defiance, but really, I think I'm just bored, and lonely."

"Castaways?"

"Oh, just people like me, who fell through wormholes or were messing around with interdimensional travel and got stuck here. Castaways, refugees, whatever. Cipher and his gang usually try to grab anyone that comes through, partly for sport, partly to see if they might be useful. I've adapted to life out here better than most so I try to grab people before Cipher does, show them the ropes." He noted her careful use of "people like me," not us. What made him different?

"Aren't you worried that he'll come after you for that?"

"Oh, he has. Seems like there's a new search party out looking for me every few weeks, but they're incredibly haphazard. I've seen them go after targets he really wants, meticulous, well-organized search parties designed to find and outflank their target. I'm just a minor nuisance, not worth the effort. But you might be, worth the effort that is, which is what has me concerned. I may have just put a very large target on my back."

"You’re not going to turn me in are you?"

"Of course not.” Delphina sounded offended. “I may be backing the wrong horse but I've made my choice and I'm sticking to it now. Still, staying here probably isn't our best option. Patrols already spotted me in this area recently and they probably suspect I’m involved."

She stood up and grabbed the fabric she'd been sitting on. Once it was in her hand, Dipper realized the seemingly shapeless fabric was, in fact, a knapsack. She opened it up, walked over to the boxes in the corner, and started sorting through the supplies, deciding what to pack.

"Bring yours over too," she called over her shoulder. Dipper picked up his shapeless mass of fabric and brought it over to the corner. Once he set it down she had him collect the rest of the fabric piles from around the cave. Somehow she was filling a second knapsack that he knew _he_ hadn’t brought over. Dipper was mostly quiet, not wanting to pester her while she seemed so focused.

Once most things were packed, she turned to Dipper and asked, “Can you take your hat or vest off?” This seemed like an odd question until he tried. They came off easily enough but the moment he put them down they returned to their original position on his body. The same went for objects in any of his pockets, though new objects could be added and removed without trouble. “We can work with this, strap your hat to your belt loop.” He did. Then she began taking the extra fabric and wrapping it around his body similar to how it was wrapped around hers. She also wrapped both of their faces. They each put on one of the knapsacks.

“Okay, we’re going to have to stick together. My cloaking and illusions are helpful but they don’t do a thing about my heat signature and some of those monsters see infrared. You don’t have a heat signature so I might still be able to trick them but they’ll catch on quickly. Most of these things are unkillable, at least without the right tools, but not invincible. I prefer avoidance tactics but I can incapacitate some of them if I have to. I’ve been scouting out a spot that’s free of refugees. Hopefully, we’ll be safe there for a few days at least. We don’t know how big of a priority you are yet so they might just give up after a while. Just keep close, follow my lead, try not to get caught.”

Dipper nodded, not feeling at all prepared, wishing he could get to his pen. He wondered where all of Delphina’s fear had gone. She seemed a lot more confident. While Dipper was trying to mentally prepare himself, Delphina looked at the boxes and the remaining few items and snapped her fingers. They turned to dust, instantly. The dust rose from the ground encircling her arms and legs in thick rings that condensed into something like coal.

“How did you do that?”

“I told you. This place has different rules.” Then Delphina turned and looked at him. His breathing was uneven, his eyes were darting between Delphina and various parts of the now-empty cave, and he was slowly backing towards the cave wall. Could she snap him to dust that easily?

With her face covered it was hard to remember she was human. Or was she? Had she said she was from Earth? Why was he trusting this strange and powerful person he knew nothing about? What could she possibly gain from helping him?

The wrapped figure squatted down to be at eye level with Dipper. Just then, he backed into the cave wall, backed through it. It scared him a little but it was a good sign. He didn’t need her to leave

“Dipper, I know this is a lot to take in. We’re both scared but we have to hold it together until we reach somewhere safe. Maybe you don’t think you can trust me and that’s justified, I’m hardly the most trusting person myself, but I want to get out of this just as much as you do. Prisoner’s Dilemma, if we both trust we win, but you have to take a gamble.” She offered her hand again.

Dipper’s brain screamed at him not to trust her, to push through the stone and bolt in a random direction. He had nothing to offer. He was a threat to her safety. Shouldn't she be happy to have him gone?

"What do you win?" He demanded. She thought about that.

"I… can’t quite put it into words. You'd think after spending so long in this wasteland I'd learn that helping others doesn't pay, but that's not been my experience. I reached the point where I don't have to spend all my energy simply on survival. With more time to think, despair, loneliness, and longing started to creep in, and that makes me reckless and vulnerable. So, I put my time and energy into helping others. I don't pretend to be brave or selfless but I need other people. Humans are social animals; we go mad on our own. Besides, do you think I could live with myself if I left a kid to the mercy of Cipher?"

Dipper knew how dumb the “what do you get out of it” mentality was. Some people just want to help because it’s the right thing. But that was on Earth. This is Cipher’s world. The same rules didn’t apply.

Something else she said clicked though. Loneliness. Did he want to be stuck out in this void alone? That thought scared him almost as much as getting caught. Isolation made people desperate. If he was alone, how long would it be before he simply gave up, let Cipher take him? He took her hand.

“Together then,” he decided, not ready to trust, but willing to take a risk.

GSRH XLFOW YV Z KILYOVN.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... that was Delphina Castaway. Do you love her? I love her. Don't worry. You can totally trust her. She's not hiding any skeletons in her closet. Nope. Seriously though, tell me what you think of her.
> 
> In case you're confused, Alea Iacta Est is Latin for "the die is cast." 
> 
> Anyway, please leave kudos and comments or yell at me to write more on Tumblr.  
> [@thejeweloftheworld](https://tmblr.co/m8wPwnNbxu8Hzmp3YTLPvrg)


	2. Strangely Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Delphina make their way across the Nightmare Realm to a, hopefully, safer location. Once settled in Dipper decides to get some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter. Woot! Woot! Might be a while before that happens again. I have edited this entirely too many times because I'm a little insecure about it.  
> Enjoy!

> Strangely quiet, but now the storm
> 
> Simply rests to strike again.
> 
> Standing, waiting, I think of her.
> 
> I think of her.

\- Lily’s Eyes (The Secret Garden)

They floated up through the rock, scouting for signs of their enemies. Dipper gazed around at the floating boulders. Even the smallest were larger than his uncle’s car. He saw no sign of anything living. Then again, he hadn’t noticed Delphina on the cave wall until she grabbed him. She must have thought the coast was clear because she slowly started to float out into the inky blackness, then disappeared into it entirely, taking him with her. 

They drifted past and sometimes through boulders. The silence was eerie compared to the cacophony of incomprehensible shrieks and screams that had filled the air less than an hour ago. His companion seemed just as unnerved. Where had all the searchers disappeared to? 

Orientation was difficult and Delphina’s movements didn’t make it easy. He remembered an older video game he had played with Soos. It had a single level where the player could fly. The level wasn’t all that difficult but it took a ridiculously long time to complete because the controls for moving through the y-axis were practically nonexistent. Out here it was even worse because there were no apparent axes, no up or down, no real gravity. He felt like he should be nauseous but he didn’t technically have a stomach. 

Rather than focusing on direction, he scanned the area for any potential adversaries. The quiet was unnerving. There had to be a trap or a tail or something! After what felt like hours of anxious silence, they reached a point where he could see the strange structures in the distance again. 

“Cipher's base.” Delphina flickered into view as she whispered and pointed. “Very dangerous.” He nodded, not sure if she could see. Despite the warning, they seemed to be moving towards it. 

Then he heard a noise, like the scraping of bone against stone. He came to a dead stop, getting Delphina’s attention. He pointed to the direction the sound had come from: behind one of the larger boulders. The two fugitives floated towards it and clung to the surface of the rock, slowly moving closer to the source of the noise, blending in with the stone. Dipper wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to investigate but he followed his companion’s lead. 

A creature gradually entered their line of sight. It was lime green and apelike, at least ten-feet tall with three purple eyes and 4 webbed wings rather than arms. Its feet had long, wicked talons. Everything about its posture screamed boredom. 

A loud gasp came from behind a boulder a little further ahead. The monster looked up and began to creep toward the sound. Just as it reached the rock, it sped up, trying to startle its quarry. Dipper felt sorry for whoever had the misfortune to be caught but, to his surprise, the beast came back empty-handed. It went back to slouching against the boulder, disappointment added to its boredom. 

The inexplicable happenings left Dipper an agitated mess but Delphina acted unconcerned as they scurried back around the boulder and continued their journey. Did she have something to do with that weird noise? Did it come from someone following them?

The sight of Cipher's base in the ever closing distance did nothing to calm his nerves. The structures were hard to look at, shamelessly defying all logic and reason, though, a few seemed at least a little pragmatic: a consol with huge, blank screens, a throne, and a building that looked suspiciously like a prison. Dipper’s stomach twisted and he tried to look away. At first, it worked and returned his focus to watching their back but his eyes and thoughts kept wandering back. 

What if Delphina was taking him  _ there _ ? The closer they got, the more he wanted to bolt but, for now, the surrounding darkness and chaos seemed far more menacing, as if the unnaturally smooth hand clutched in his own was the only thing preventing it from drowning him. But if he thought the darkness was bad it was nothing compared to the space beyond the asteroid field.

Until now, Dipper had noticed occasional sounds, smells, and colors that didn’t appear to have any source. Out in the open, the chaos was unrelenting. They were no longer flying through blackness but a shifting kaleidoscope of colors. Electrical impulses would crackle and disappear. The smells that assaulted his nose were varied and undefinable though they were all distinctly burnt. Clouds of gases and bubbles of liquid would occasionally float past. (Delphina was careful to avoid most of these. Who wanted to get stuck in a pool of mercury?) Once or twice, living, seemingly unintelligent creatures came up to investigate the travelers. Few had anatomies that would even be possible on Earth, let alone practical.

A place like this could drive a person crazy.

Finally, they reached a thick dust cloud at least as wide as a football field. Chunks of gravel, asphalt, soil, and grass floated through it. Once they were inside, Dipper found that it had a visibility of only a few feet. 

At the center of the cloud hovered a school bus, an honest to God, long, yellow school bus, jarringly out of place.

The door was open and they went inside, suddenly visible again. Delphina dropped his hand and snapped her fingers. All of the dust inside the bus flew out in a wind that sent their loose clothing flapping. Warm light filled the bus with no apparent source. Dipper followed Delphina’s lead as she unwrapped her face and ventured deeper into the bus. As he did, he noticed that their clothing was dust-free and that Delphina’s eyes were clear of any irritation. It was a little unnerving, like glitches in a simulation.

“I found this place a while back. Wormholes don’t usually open around here, and dust clouds aren’t very useful, so it’s gone unnoticed so far.” She chose a random bench and snapped her fingers again. The carbon flew off her wrists creating three boxes. The excess material formed a dense block on the floor. Then she started unpacking her knapsack.

Dipper did feel a lot safer at the center of the dust cloud but the mostly empty bus was creepy. He removed his bag and walked over to the pale woman. “How long do you think we can stay here?” He wasn't looking forward to another trip through the chaos outside.

“Hard to say.” She shrugged. “The lack of pursuit is concerning. They wouldn’t have given up looking for even a random Castaway this fast and we only ran across one lonely patrol, not even alert. Something isn’t right.”

“Wait! What about the person that weird monster thing went after? I didn’t see anyone but they must have been following us! Maybe they can cam…” Dipper was cut-off but a chuckle.

“That was just me. Sorry if I worried you; I was just gauging the patrol’s reaction.”

“Oh,” was all Dipper could say. 

Delphina smiled indulgently before gesturing to each of the three boxes in turn. “Food, medical supplies, fabric. I’ll go through our packs, why don’t you bring me anything laying around the bus? Okay?” Still a little embarrassed at his overreaction, Dipper quickly moved to make himself useful.

As he collected, Dipper felt like his head would explode from all of his questions. He wanted the Journal, bad: to search for answers, write down what he was learning, ask his new friend about the author. But the Journal was gone. 

His last few moments on Earth flashed across his memory: the Journal burning, cries from the audience, Mabel falling, Mabel not getting up. What if the Journal wasn’t the only thing he lost? 

No! No. He couldn't think about that. If he thought about that he might lie down and never get back up. Focus on the sorting, getting settled in for however long they might be here, anything except what he had left behind. Lucky for him, there was a lot to do.

Once the packs were empty, Delphina helped him remove the rest of the loose fabric she had wrapped around him. (For some reason he couldn’t remove it himself.) Then they started to sort through the items Dipper had gathered. Thankfully, there were no children, living or dead, but several backpacks, lunch boxes, and school supplies remained. They had a sizable pile. 

Delphina made more boxes as needed. The number of books they found delighted her, which endeared her to Dipper more than he’d like to admit. The bus must have been for a Middle School but everything was at least ten years out of date and there were a few inconsistencies that told Dipper that this bus was  _ not _ from his Dimension. For example, there was a Jane Austen book titled “The Matchmaker’s Folly” that he was fairly sure was meant to be  _ Emma _ . (How many film adaptations of  _ Emma _ had Mabel made him watch? She’d never even read the book!) 

When they were done, they had a box of books, a box of folders and notebooks, a box of writing and drawing supplies, a box of mathematical instruments (mostly cheap pocket calculators), a box of backpacks and other containers, and a box of random junk that ranged from plastic snakes to a pocket knife. The first three boxes had also gained many new contributions. 

Dipper found a mostly empty girl’s diary that was both sturdy and compact. Despite the color, it would make a reasonable replacement Journal. He also nabbed a few extra pens. 

Delphina had pulled some kind of gadget out of her garment and appeared to be scanning the books with it. It looked like a slow process. After a few moments, the quiet started to get to Dipper.

“Do you mind if I ask some questions now?” he asked, pulling out the diary and a pen. Delphina glanced over, examining his posture and tools anxiously.

“I suppose… but I can’t guarantee I’ll answer them. There’s plenty I don’t know and there are some things I’d rather not talk about.” He took that as encouragement enough.

“How old are you?” It wasn’t the best question to open with but he wanted to start simple.

“I don’t know. Twenty-five? I haven’t aged in a while.” So, much for easy questions. 

“Well, how long have you been here?” She chewed on that for a second before returning with her own question.

“What year is it? In your dimension anyway.”

“2012.”

“At least 30 years then, time moves differently here so it’s hard to tell.” 30 years? Could that be a coincidence? And did people, just, not age in the Nightmare Realm? He wasn't quite ready to get bogged down in  _ that _ weirdness yet. 

“Are you from Earth?” Dipper asked the question like it was nothing but he held his breath. He’d been acting under the assumption that she was human but if she wasn’t… 

“An Earth, probably not yours.” Relief flooded Dipper. That made things a lot simpler. Her earth probably wasn’t even all that different. He had enough trouble understanding social practices at home; he didn't need to worry about accidentally offending an alien. 

“Have you been to other Dimensions?”

“Not really, just here and home. Some Castaways jump into a random wormhole and hope for the best. I was never brave enough to do that.” The bitterness in her voice caught Dipper off-guard.

"There's nothing cowardly about not running into a potentially dangerous situation blind. It's just common sense." Besides, no coward would be willing to help him. Delphina didn’t seem reassured.

"Maybe Earth has changed a lot in the past thirty years but I was taught to admire the settlers and frontiersmen. 'To boldly go where no man has gone before' and all that.  _ That's _ bravery."

“Wait! You like Star Trek?" 

"What? Oh, a… yeah." Was she blushing? "I'm surprised you've heard of it. It was gaining some popularity but…" 

"Oh no, they're still making Star Trek stuff today. I was never that into it but it has a  _ huge _ fan base." 

Oh, well, that's… good." She wasn't excited. She just kept scanning her book with unnecessary intensity. What had he said?

"So what was your life like, back on earth? Like you said, things change in 30 years." Maybe he was probing a little too much. She seemed uncomfortable.

“I don't remember." Her words were slow and careful. “It's best not to think about the past. I don't want to know if I had a family or friends or… children. I can't go back. This is my life now." There were several moments of silence broken only by her heavy breathing. Dipper found himself wishing she wasn't so candid; he wasn't ready to give up but the hopelessness was creeping in already. Finally, she looked up at him with a polite smile. "Was that all?" 

"Uh, no." Crap! What else had he wanted to ask? “Um, what kind of powers do you have? I mean, I know you can turn invisible, phase through walls, and turn stuff to dust. What else can you do?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t call them powers precisely. As far as I can tell, they’re skills anyone could master out here. I just happen to be a fast learner. Anyway, some of it’s telekinesis: moving matter without touching it. Some of it’s alchemy, I guess. Not in a changing lead into gold way but I can separate materials into their… elemental parts? I think. And I can fuse stuff together. I can manipulate light and sound waves to an extent, that’s how I distracted that patrol, and I don’t need to eat or sleep. That's probably the most useful thing.” Telekinesis? Alchemy? How could she act like this was no big deal? Was this normal around here? If she could do all that then what was Bill capable of? His stomach sank.

“Do you know why Cipher wants me?” It was too much to hope that Bill just wanted him out of the picture. He didn't know that much about the demon but doubted he'd shy away from killing a twelve-year-old. No, Dipper was here for a purpose. He just didn't have a clue what it could be.

“I'm sorry; I don't know. I have a few guesses but I don't have nearly enough information to say anything with confidence."

“Can you tell me what you do know about him? Maybe we could figure it out.” Was this how Mabel felt trying to be the optimistic one because it was exhausting. 

“You called him a dream demon, I don’t know how accurate that is. If this is hell then I’d peg him as Satan. Fancies himself a sort of king out here, built himself a throne and everything.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “He’s 2 Dimensional, that’s probably some indication of where he’s from originally.”

“Have you ever talked to him?”

“I’m still here aren’t I? You ever get that close, you’re screwed.” Dipper frowned; that wasn't an answer.

“What about his goons?”

“Sure, sometimes the patrols are talkative. They’re mostly new, reckless, and desperate to gain favor. They’ll try to grab me at first but their dignity gets bruised pretty easily. After that, they’re willing to chat just to relieve the boredom. Haven’t done more than exchange the occasional taunt with his more favored minions, though.” Somehow, her causal attitude was making everything worse. How could she just chat with the same monsters that had tried to kill her? Well… maybe Dipper could relate to that more than he'd like to admit. 

“How can you understand them? Nothing I heard sounded even remotely like English.”

“One minute.” She started to rummage around in folds of garments. “I think I have an extra.” She pulled out a high tech looking bracelet and handed it to him “Here you go: translator.” 

“Oh, thanks.” Dipper strapped the odd device to his wrist, ignoring the part of him that screamed not to accept random gadgetry. “How does it work?”

“Haven’t a clue but hit this button and you should be able to understand most verbal languages. It works both ways too, so you don't have to worry about whether or not they have their own translator.”

“Cool." Delphina might  _ not _ be speaking English then. "So, what is Cipher after, exactly?”

“What, like big long term goals? Chaos I guess, power. From what I’ve heard, he’s trying to get into a stable dimension.”

“What happens then?”

“Who knows. Probably wouldn’t want to be in that dimension.” Her words had some humor but her face and tone were dead serious. "It might have wider-reaching consequences across the multiverse as well. I… try not to think about it. There are people here who need my help and that's something I  _ can  _ do. There's  _ nothing  _ I can do against Bill." 

“So, there are more Castaways out here, right? Not just you.”

“Yeah, a few. I’m friendly with most of them. I love listening to their stories. They come from such strange places. We’re all fairly nomadic, have to be, but we help out when we can, keep each other company."

“Are any of them more powerful, er- skilled than you?” Delphina took a minute to think about that.

“No, not in the way that you mean. As far as I know, I’ve been here the longest. A few have biologies better suited to living in this environment and Festus is a wizard with gadgets but few have my abilities.” Dipper swallowed a question about how long Castaways usually lived. He didn’t want to know.

“Do people turn up here often?”

“Oh, every few months. Most come intentionally, looking for Cipher. Others just stumble through wormholes. I try to get them before any of Bill's crowd can but… not everyone is lucky. The Nightmare Realm is kind of like the couch cushions of the multiverse. Stuff gets lost here. Objects come through almost daily but it used to happen every couple of minutes. There were a  _ lot _ more wormholes when I first arrived."

“Can you tell me about that? When you fell through, I mean. Was it hard, adapting to life out here?”

“I was… lucky. I found a group to take me in for a bit but when we parted ways, things were… bad for a long time.”

Oh, God! She looked like she was about to cry. Crap! How did he always manage to mess up like this? He never knew the right thing to say. 

Stalling for time, not wanting to make the situation worse, he looked over his notes and tried to organize them a little better, adding tidbits he had learned throughout the day, trying to make sense of everything. 

His worries and suspicions began to spill out onto the pages. She kept sidestepping topics and giving carefully worded replies and she could be so cryptic sometimes. Could he really trust her?

“Is Delphina your  _ real _ name?” He hadn't meant to ask, especially not in that accusatory tone, but it just slipped out. What if she got offended, thought he was calling her a liar? She did look annoyed, though, on the bright side, she seemed to have recovered from whatever memories he’d drudged up.

“No, and I doubt Dipper is yours.” He couldn't blush, a relief, but he still cringed. She had a point. Since she didn't seem too angry, he decided to push forward.

“Uh, why Delphina? It  _ is _ an odd name.”

“No stranger than Dipper.” She took a deep breath before continuing in a more conversational tone. “It’s another constellation, Delphinus, the Dolphin, placed in the stars by Apollo after he rescued some musician from pirates. Which is weird, since I’m pretty sure Dionysus turned a bunch of pirates into dolphins when they tried to capture him. Or something like that.” She stopped abruptly, shaking her head and returning her focus to her work. Dipper considered some of the other topics she’d been cagey about.

“Had you ever heard of Gravity Falls before you met me?”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure.” The quaver in her voice betrayed some uneasiness with the topic but he was too excited to stop.

“Do you know the author of the Journals?” A long silence followed that question broken only by the muffled thump of the book slipping from her lap. The fingers of her left hand dug into the fabric covering her shoulder. Her chin drooped, face turned away.

Oops.

“Yeah, I think so. It was a long time ago.” 

“Who?” Dipper pressed but she stayed quiet. “Come on. You know something about him, something about me. I can tell. Please, I need to know. Maybe it can help me understand why Bill’s after me.” There was a long pause filled with Delphina’s heavy breathing and his own anxious tension. Just when he resigned himself to never getting an answer, she sat up and fixed him with those strange blue eyes.

“You’re right. I’ll tell you, but you might not like what you hear.”

  
  
  


GSZG WLOKSRM MVVWH Z NFAAOV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated. Also, Tumblr plug. I occasionally post updates there.  
> [@thejeweloftheworld](https://tmblr.co/m8wPwnNbxu8Hzmp3YTLPvrg)
> 
> Next chapter will have some backstory (don't worry, Delphina isn't Ford's space wife or anything) and hopefully some fluff! I wanted to include an animal companion for Delphina but saw no future for poor Pabu but death at Bill's hand. Maybe I'll still include him, but don't get attached.
> 
> I also have storylines for Mabel, Wendy, and (to a lesser extent) Robby. Those will probably be posted as separate works in the same series. 
> 
> Let's see, random semi-relevant stuff I feel like sharing. Feel free to stop reading, I'm just rambling. 
> 
> Might be obvious but a large part of my prewriting was in a Q&A format between Dipper and Delphina. This feels incredibly exposition-y to me but it is completely in character for Dipper to corner someone into an interview. 
> 
> I actually wrote out Dipper's notes to help me grasp his mindset better. 
> 
> I have some Chekhov's guns in this chapter that probably won't go off because writing paranoid characters can be hard. As can worldbuilding.
> 
> The Star Trek discussion was purely because the quote was a perfect fit for what Delphina was talking about. I'm not a fan. I know little about the series. Delphina probably just had a friend who was a fan. (She might just be a Heinlein fan though.)
> 
> I'm too lazy to use and invent Gravity Fall-isms for franchises, hence Star Trek instead of Wagon Train to the Stars. Also, I have some fluff involving Star Wars planned for later so I figured I'd set a precedent now.
> 
> In early drafts, I included a Babel Fish reference. I have since decided that Hitchhiker's references are not a rabbit hole I want to go down.
> 
> Writing two characters that know less about alchemy than I do is annoying. It feels OOC for Delphina to even know the word.
> 
> Delphina is older than my parents. I'll try to avoid giving her knowledge of anything post-1982 but mindset, common knowledge, and values are kind of a shot in the dark. 
> 
> Delphina being a pseudonym does not mean she's secretly another character. She's not.
> 
> The Secret Garden musical is amazing, and the quote really fit, but I got Lilly's Eyes stuck in my head every time I read the title. A local theater group did it a few years back and the last roles I'd seen Dr. and Mr. Craven's actors in were Jean Valjean and Javert. It led to some interesting perceived dynamics.
> 
> That's enough rambling. I should probably hit post now.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, please leave kudos and comments or yell at me to write more on Tumblr.  
> [@thejeweloftheworld](https://tmblr.co/m8wPwnNbxu8Hzmp3YTLPvrg)


End file.
